Thursday, October 10, 2013

Blog 5!

Tell us about a piece of writing that has impacted your life. It could be something you wrote, something you read, or even something you wish that you'd written. What was the text, and how did it affect you and your choices? (For this exercise, I'm going to forbid quoting scripture. You all already know that words of scripture can be transforming. I want to push you beyond that, to see the hand of God not only in holy writ but also in "the best books" and the skill of your own pen.)

17 comments:

  1. A piece of writing that has really impacted my life is Little Women. Classic, I know. I had this book introduced to me as a little girl and it has always been my favorite. Just like the family in the book, my family has four girls and each girl is represented pretty well as certain characters in the book. I love that time period and in some ways have really wanted to live like them. There were many things in the girls that I wanted to emulate myself, including maturity, humility, simplicity, etc. and no matter how old i'll get, it will always be my favorite book.

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  2. I know it sounds silly but something that has impacted my life is cook books. I remember as a little girl reading through cook books and thinking that is was almost like magic that something described on paper could turn into something so delicious. To this day I still find great joy in reading recipes and cookbooks, you can learn so much about people from their cookbooks. And lets just face it, food is amazing.

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  3. My very favorite book is Norman McClean's A River Runs Through It. I love it's overall message addressing the concept of being your brother's keeper, and eventually concluding that it's part of each of our responsibilities as human beings to love and show kindness even if we don't understand other's actions or choices. It's reminded me to be kind and compassionate to everyone I meet, regardless of the way they treat me or the way they act to others around them. It's not our place to judge; God will be the final decider upon the lives we've led.

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  4. The series of Anne of Green Gables made a huge impact on my life. I had never enjoyed reading until I read these books. They were so magical to me. Being the realistic person I am, I loved how it could be a real person living a real life. Anne became my hero. She was a strong, determined young women who wasn't afraid to say what she felt and be who she wanted to be. Because I was really shy, I aspired to be like her when I grew up, and I'm not as rude as she was at times, but I'd say that I have reached that goal.

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  5. I read a quote by David Brinkley that struck me as profound: ”A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”
    Whenever I think of the trials and tribulations in my personal life this quote reminds me that if I strive forward I can overcome almost anything. I can turn a negative situation into a positive one. It's this type of thinking that pushes me to be the best person I can.

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  6. Marianne Williamson has a very famous quote that has always touched me. I'm sure almost everyone has heard it before but it reads, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

    I love this quote so much because I think it is very profound. I wish I could write something like this because it speaks to so many individuals in so many different ways. For me, it is a reminder that I am beautiful and talented and I shouldn't let anyone tell me otherwise. It is important to remember the light that is within me. If I were to read this quote every time I woke up in the morning, I am certain I would have a more positive outlook on life and make decisions with more confidence and certainty.

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  7. A piece of writing that has impacted my life? ONE? Only one? Well, at the end of my senior year in my AP English Literature class, our final assignment was to write a Final Observations. Observations in that class were essays in which we would write about something we observed over the weekend. No one topic was ever given, except for the final one. In our final observation, we were to write about ourselves - something we noticed that had changed over the course of either our senior year or our high school experience. Not only was my own observation a big eye-opener for myself, but every one else's papers were as well. Our teacher read each observation out loud to the class and at the end of the paper, we'd guess whose paper it was. There were not shallow papers written only for a grade. These papers were sincere, deep, heartfelt papers. The kids in my class really opened up. I learned a lot about myself through writing that paper and I learned a whole lot more about the kids in my class. It made me see everyone in an entirely new light.

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  8. I'm hesitant to call it profound, but the first piece of literature that really struck me was the novel Where the Red Fern Grows. I don't remember what age I was or why I even decided to read it ( I know it wasn't a school assignment), but I do remember it was the first book that made me cry. Oops did I say cry? I meant SOBBED. I was so bewildered at the emotions I felt yet so overwhelmed by them that I just sat there clutching the book and tried my best to push through the tears! I asked my mother why I was so sad when it was just a book, and she told me that some authors just have this incredible power to get into our hearts and make us feel like the people we are reading about are real, and that we're apart of their story. I felt like I had actually lost Old Dan and Little Ann. It was the first time I saw and understood the kind of power writing could have. I have been in love with books ever since. Of course Where the Red Fern Grows also taught me a valuable lesson about friendship, but maybe more importantly, the power of will. I was younger when I read the book, and when your young everything feels out of reach. Here was this boy though, that wanted these hound dogs so badly, and was so determined, that he worked years to get them. It was inspiring. I learned you're never to young to start working towards what you want,and nothing's ever quite as impossible as it seems. To this day it is still my favorite book.

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  9. After my first grandfather died, I wrote about his life and his challenges for a class paper. Everyone in our grade wrote about a challenge they had gone through in their life. I wrote mine about losing my grandfather. I was just beginning to get close to my grandfather for a number of reasons before he passed away and writing this essay helped me grow to love him more. After this assignment all of our class's essays were combined into a book that everyone now has a copy of. It is inspiring to go back and read them sometimes and see inside the walls that everyone hides behind. The whole experience brought our class closer together and helped us to get to know ourselves.

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  11. My favorite book is by Mitch Albom, "Tuesdays with Morrie". It is such an inspirational book because Morrie gives advice and stories of his own experiences and reflects on his life and what he has gotten out of it. It makes you realize and appreciate the real things in life, like friends and family.

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  12. Last year I memorized the poem "Good Timber" by Douglas Malloch. This poem made an impression on me. It says "good timber does not grow with ease, the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees." It was neat to hear President Monson, recently in conference, quote from this poem. It's a poem about persevering and enduring through difficult times in our lives. I'm glad I memorized this poem. It has spiritual applications!

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  13. My favorite book is "Finding Paradise" by Michele Ashman Bell. It is totally a cliche girly book but the message throughout it amazing. It talks about how girls always strive for husbands as their main goal growing up when that isn't the most important thing! The main character is a very individual woman and understands this concept and lives her life the way she wants to. She makes life changes that impact all aspects of her life for herself and not for anyone else (which is rare now a days). This book just really resonated with me growing up and reminded me that I can be an individual and make decisions for myself and without outside influences. PLUS, it has an awesome love story throughout, which makes it one hundred zillion times better!!!

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  14. A random book I found in the bookshelf in my basement was titled, "The Plums Hang High." This book was an emotional story about a newly married couple from a royal family in England, who travel from there to America and try to achieve the "American Dream." The husband has never farmed in his life, and the wife has never done anything to learn how to be a housewife. After TONS of heartache and learning experiences, them and their several children (who come along during the entire trip) finally accomplish their dreams and have a wonderful life. This is a great book if you are looking for something to sympathize your problems with or make them seem smaller and less important.

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  15. One book that I read when I was pretty young and that had a huge effect on me was "The Outsiders." This book taught me so much because it helped me get into the head of someone who grew up in totally different circumstances than what I grew up in. I learned a lot about struggles and sadness and I can just remember sobbing during the book because it was one of the first truly sad stories I ever read. However, despite the sadness of the novel, I still learned about friendship and love. To this day I'll still shout "Stay gold, Ponyboy" in remembrance of this book.

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  16. One piece of writing that affected me was Robert Frost's poem "The road less traveled" . This writing has influenced me to choose the road less traveled by. It has also brought up the point that i will never know which path would have been better to take. Where would have the other one gone if i had done this instead of that. Choosing the less traveled path in life is a surefire way to guarantee to get the most out of life. That is what I learned from Robert Frost.

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  17. This will sound juvenile, but The Hunger Games. I don't read for enjoyment very often. When I get a good book, I can't put it down, but that seldom happens. It was around Christmas time 3 years ago and I hadn't read anything enthralling for a long time. Every year "Santa" brings us a book in our stocking. I got The Hunger Games and couldn't put them down. Finished both in a week, which meant quite a lot of reading for myself. These books didn't impact my life a ton, but they did impact me to read more. I'm thankful for Santa bringing me a gift that got me back into reading.

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